ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Tom Clancy’s most iconic character,
Jack Ryan, returns to the big screen in this taut suspense thriller. When a
global terrorist network is about to be activated, brilliant CIA analyst Jack
Ryan (Chris Pine, “Star Trek”) has no choice but to become operational. Yet
when everyone who could stop the impending international catastrophe has
something to lose or something to hide, who can Ryan possibly trust?
Caught between his tight-lipped
handler Harper (Academy Award-winner Kevin Costner), his in-the-dark fiancée
Cathy (Keira Knightley) and a fearsome Russian oligarch (Kenneth Branagh), Jack
must confront a new reality where secrets and lies are everywhere, yet the fate
of millions rests on his finding the truth. With the urgency of a lit fuse,
he’s in a race to stay one step ahead of everyone around him.
WHAT IS GOOD/BAD ABOUT THE MOVIE:
In general, Shadow Recruit offers an adequate
storyline, one that is par-for-the-course in the Jack Ryan series. It’s not the
smartest or most engaging premise and Branagh includes a few bizarre scenes
that, while allowing for interesting character “moments,” are somewhat at odds
with the larger plot. Still, the film attempts to be more brainy than some of
its modern spy contemporaries, prioritizing plot over improbable action
sequences (of which there are few).
Since Shadow Recruit isn’t about nuclear warfare
or a new doomsday technology, it’s about manipulating fragile financial
markets, it is important that viewers understand what’s actually at stake. To
his credit, Pine manages to ensure that any rumination on global economics,
financial trading, or terrorist patterns is interesting – even if it’s not
always easy for the audience, along with some of the characters, to make the
same connections. The actor is a solid as well as entertaining (although
slightly generic) lead this time, conveying both Ryan’s inexperience and
inherent attention to detail, which gets the job done but isn’t especially
fresh or nuanced.
While Keira Knightley’s performance as Cathy
(Ryan’s girlfriend) in the film is fine, the character’s inclusion is mostly an
unneeded distraction throughout the majority of the movie – falling into one
contrived setup after another (suspicious girlfriend, distraction for the
villain, or damsel in distress) without really adding any further understanding
to the Jack Ryan character or the pair’s relationship. Strangely, Cathy
actually sheds more light on Branagh’s Cherevin than she does Ryan.
In fact, Cherevin is easily one of the most
captivating elements of Shadow Recruit. Branagh gives an engrossing performance
in the role but he also ensures that the layered Cherevin is utilized in scenes
that both reveal details about the villain and reflect larger ideological
juxtapositions. Kevin Costner rounds-out the main cast as William Harper – a
role that balances dry humor with no-nonsense authority. Aside from serving as
a babysitter for Ryan, Costner isn’t given a very wide range of material to
explore, but the veteran actor’s performance is still sharp.
Ultimately, the film is an adequate and enjoyable
spy drama – albeit one that will not deliver the same explosive action
set-pieces and mind-bending plots that audiences will have enjoyed in competing
modern espionage dramas. The story and villain succeed in setting-up Chris
Pine’s Jack Ryan for future adventures in the Tom Clancy universe but Shadow
Recruit, as a standalone movie, is short on notable moments or characters.
There’s reason to believe that future filmmakers will be able to develop
engrossing Jack Ryan adventures with the assembled cast but Shadow Recruit
falls short of realizing the character’s full franchise potential – resulting
in a good but not particularly groundbreaking spy movie effort.
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